The Steelers continued their rookie draft pick signings on Wednesday as 5th round draft pick and tackle Chris Scott signed a 3 year contract worth around $1.355 million dollars with a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $140,000. Scott was the first of three 5th round picks the Steelers had in the draft and the 151st player drafted overall. At Tennessee, Scott started the final 39 games of his career and helped block for a rushing attack that averaged 157 yards per game and 19 touchdowns in 2009. To make room on the roster for Scott, the Steelers released undrafted rookie safety Da'mon Cromartie Read more [...]

Just got early word this morning that the Steelers have signed 5th round draft pick guard Chris Scott and waived undrafted rookie S Da'mon Cromartie Smith on Wednesday. I will have more on this shortly. A little bookmark house keeping for you as the Blog N Gold Steelers blog of Dan Gigler's has a new home on the Post-Gazette website. You can find the new location here at this link. Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis talked about his relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on ESPN First take yesterday. The answers to part 1 of the "Ask the Steelers" segment with rookie Read more [...]

To make room for the recently signed draft picks and get down to the league mandated roster limit of 80, the Steelers released 7 players on Tuesday. Those players released were: wide receiver Jason Chery, kicker Piotr Czech, linebacker Derrick Doggett, punter Adam Graessle, nose tackle Cordarrow Thompson, center Bradley Vierling and cornerback Trae Williams. The Steelers have 4 draft picks yet to be signed and are currently down to 79 players under contract on the active roster with wide receiver Limas Sweed on the injured reserve list.

The Steelers continued their draft pick signings on Tuesday as they signed Utah linebacker Stevenson Sylvester and Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer to 3 year deals each. The Steelers have 4 drafted players to sign yet in Maurkice Pouncey, Jason Worilds, Chris Scott and Crezdon Butler. Sylvester was drafted in the fifth round (166th overall) while Dwyer was the Steelers first of two sixth-round picks (188th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. Both players base salaries are as follows: 2010: $320,000, 2011: $405,000 and 2012: $490,000. The total deal for Sylvester is rumored to be around $1,335,500 Read more [...]

The Steelers signed wide receiver and 6th round draft pick Antonio Brown to three-year contract that included a $73,075 signing bonus on Tuesday. The contract totals out at at almost 1.29 million dollars and breaks down base wise as follows: 2010: $320,000, 2011: $405,000 and 2012: $490,000. Brown, a slot receiver who racked up 305 receptions in three seasons for Central Michigan, hopes his return ability can help him land a roster spot with the Steelers. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder led the nation in punt returns as a junior in 2009 and returned five punts and kickoffs for touchdowns in his college Read more [...]

We have yet to hear back from Jordan Woy, the agent for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, but have no reason not to believe our contract report of 3 years, 2 million is not correct. (((Should be 1.8 million - Bad math and 3 years versus 4 years others received))). The picks just ahead of and just behind Sanders had signed and the contract numbers slot perfectly between Earl Mitchell of the Texans and Corey Peters of the Falcons. The only difference is both those players received 4 year deals. The Steelers have a long history of signing players drafted round 3 or later to only 3 year deals and Read more [...]

The Steelers announced their 2010 training camp schedule today. The team will report to training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe on July 30th and will hold their first practice on July 31st. All afternoon practices are open and begin at 2:55 p.m. The only night practice will take place August 6th at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. The team breaks camp on August 20th. Below is the schedule of training camp practices open to the public and the afternoon practices generally run from 2:55 p.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. All times are Eastern Time. The campus opens to the public Read more [...]

According to his Twitter account, Steelers wide receiver and 3rd round draft pick Emmanuel Sanders has signed and agreed to his rookie contract with the Steelers on Monday. Sanders was the 82nd overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft out of SMU. The length of the contract is 3 years according to a response we got from Emmanuel himself to Steelers Depot. The deal is rumored to be totaled out at nearly 1.801 million dollars and include a $586,000 signing bonus. The base salary for the 3 years is: 2010: $320,000, 2011: $405,000 and 2012: $490,000. Read more [...]

There is a lull in the mini camps right now, but Mike Bires of the Beaver County Times has a look at the running back unit where youth is running ramp-it. Running backs coach Kirby Wilson says the group is the youngest that he has had his 13 seasons in the NFL. Steelers kicker Jeff Reed joined John Seibel on the Seibel and Starkey show on Friday and talks about the Big 12, his next 7 weeks of training and his recent clearing of charges after finishing 40 hours of community service. Reed says his contract negotiations are at a standstill right now. Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward joined Read more [...]

Several people have emailed me asking about the contracts signed by rookie draft picks Thaddeus Gibson & Doug Worthington. Both signed 3 year contracts and are identical in base salaries. Gibson had the much higher signing bonus of the two as expected as he was drafted in the 4th round versus Worthington who was a 7th round pick. Of course there is no salary cap in 2010, but I have broken down the players contracts by year and salary cap charge for future reference. Player POS Years Bonus 2010 Base 2010 Cap 2011 Base 2011 Cap 2012 Base 2012 Cap Thaddeus Gibson OLB 3 $366,015 $320,000 $442,005 $405,000 $527,005 $490,000 $612,005 Doug Read more [...]

In so many words Thursday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin named Byron Leftwich the team's No. 1 quarterback Thursday following the conclusion of offseason practices. Dennis Dixon will be No. 2 followed by Charlie Batch. Scott Brown speculates that Dixon would have to play lights out during the preseason to unseat Leftwich as the No. 1. That is not impossible mind you, but unprobable. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had glowing words for first-round draft pick Maurkice Pouncey on Thursday saying Pouncey could be a candidate to start at right guard and still a candidate for center as well. Tomlin Read more [...]

The Steelers signed their second draft pick on Thursday as seventh-round defensive lineman Doug Worthington was signed to a three-year deal on Thursday. The contract is believed to include a $33,000 signing bonus and total out at almost $1.25 million dollars over the three years. Worthington was drafted with the 242nd overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft after he started 35 games for Ohio State on the defensive line. He recorded 103 tackles, including 12 for a loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks. Worthington set career-highs for the Buckeyes in 2009 with 42 tackles and 2 quarterback sacks.

The Ben Roethlisberger sit down interviews by Sally Wiggin and Bob Pompeani are now live on the web. You can watch both below: Sally Wiggin interviews Ben for WTAE Bob Pompeani interviews Ben for KDKA [flv:http://cbstv.vo.llnwd.net/e2/0013/flash/20100610130449_02200_000049p8002300.flv 480 368] Read more [...]

The Steelers have begun signing their 2010 draft picks on Thursday as fourth-round linebacker Thaddeus Gibson was signed to a three-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. Gibson started 23 games at defensive end for Ohio State University, replacing Vernon Gholston for the 2008 season. In 35 career games, Gibson totaled 82 tackles, including 25 for a loss and 10 quarterback sacks, and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after the 2009 season. Gibson declared for the 2010 NFL Draft after his junior year, citing his mother’s health issues as playing a role in his decision.

Kicker Jeff Reed said on Wednesday that his chances to sign a long-term contract with the Steelers by July 15 are 50-50. If he does not have a new deal in place by that time, he will play out his existing franchise tag, one year deal and become a free agent after the 2010 season. Reed claims he wants to stay in Pittsburgh and I think this deal will get done as long as he keeps his nose clean the rest of the Summer and is not a distraction. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released audio and video taped statements on Wednesday from the closed sexual assault investigation of quarterback Ben Read more [...]

A new Steelers DVD is being released, but likely not one that you hoped to see as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is set to release more than 50 DVDs relating to the Ben Roethlisberger sexual assault case today. Even though Roethlisberger was not charged in the case, Georgia law requires authorities to release evidence if requested. Steelers right tackle Willie Colon might not ever secure a long term deal with the team according to his agent, Joe Linta. Linta told the Tribune that Colon is destined to play for another NFL team in another year or two and that no talks have taken place between Read more [...]

John Harris explains how he thinks the Steelers brass is not completely sold on head coach Mike Tomlin and why a contract extension has not been reached just yet. Harris goes on to suggest that if Tomlin is not extended by the start of the season, it's a vote of no-confidence in Tomlin. The NFL has ordered the Baltimore Ravens to cancel their final organized team activities because of a violation of workout rules as they "violated the rules concerning the intensity and tempo of drills conducted on the club's organized team activity days. The Steelers have swapped backup long snappers after Read more [...]

The Steelers have released long snapper Jared Retkofsky and signed long snapper Matt Stewart to take his place on the roster. Stewart was a 2001 fourth-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons and was in training camp with both Arizona and Dallas over the last two seasons. Retkofsky played in 11 games for the Steelers over the past two seasons when Greg Warren went down injured.

Teresa Varley of Steelers.com writes about how defensive end Aaron Smith is starting to get back in the flow of things following rotator cuff surgery last season. Smith is a leader that was surely missed down the stretch on defense along with Troy Polamalu. Scott Brown writes about the Steelers bringing back linebacker Larry Foote, cornerback Bryant McFadden, Quarterback Byron Leftwich and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El this offseason. Ed Bouchette wrote about former Steelers linebacker draft pick Bruce Davis and how production at a big-time college means nothing when translating how a kid Read more [...]

Jason La Canfora speculates that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger could have a sit down type interview with Oprah Winfrey or Larry King to get all of the laundry aired out before training camp. I think the Winfrey or King angle is a bit over the top myself, but perhaps a Jim Gray or Jeremy Schaap taped interview would be more in line. Roethlisberger only took two of the many questions the media had on Thursday. Ed Bouchette says that quarterback Dennis Dixon has not practiced with the first team much of any and it has become obvious that Byron Leftwich will open the season as the starting Read more [...]